


Snapshots of Us: 50 Sentences

by BaconWaffle16



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 50 Sentences, Coping, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Gem Fusion, Gem War, Gen, Hints of Smut, Hispanic Character, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Maybe - Freeform, Mention - Freeform, Multi, Non-Linear Narrative, Other, POV Original Female Character, POV Second Person, Steven bonding with reader, all the Gems, and fusions, and my ladyboner for Bismuth, because lord have mercy, except maybe Jasper, inspired by the newest episodes, love for the Gems, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-29 11:31:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7682824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaconWaffle16/pseuds/BaconWaffle16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Lisa Gomez. You are a distant niece/cousin to Greg Universe, on your mother's side. </p><p>You have recently entered your early to mid-twenties, and have moved to Beach City to become an instructor at a local Adult Learning Center. You have also become a personal tutor and (sort of) babysitter for your cousin Steven Universe...who lives with women you grew up believing to be superheroes.</p><p>These are little snippets of your life with Steven and the Crystal Gems.</p><p>Note: Each chapter will have 50 Sentences :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start

* * *

**01: Air**

You met Rose when you were at least six years old and not too long after she became Tio Greg’s wife (or something? You weren’t sure how their relationship had worked...), and you loved her the minute she happily lifted you into the air and made you feel like you could fly.

**02: Apples**

Steven turned five the summer you turned fifteen, and the moment you saw him smile with a sliced apple piece for teeth, you felt your grief for Titi Rose start to melt into love.

**03: Beginning**

Our story truly begins when you, Lisa Gomez turn twenty-three and move into Beach City, where you become a literacy and TESOL teacher at a local adult learning center and a personal tutor for your younger cousin Steven Universe—who happens to live with the women (?) you grew up believing were superheroes.

**04: Bugs**

If it hadn’t been for Pearl holding you back, you would have probably ran and grabbed for Steven as the full grown, too grown for you to face, “Centipeedle” crawled towards him.

**05: Coffee**

A day or so after the...return, you look up from the cup of dark coffee Garnet poured you and you observe her leaning against the counter with a silent expectation, as if for the first time, and you ask with a tremble in your voice: “You guys aren’t superheroes, are you?”

**06: Dark**

You used to worry over the darkness in your skin and hair, features that you got from your father, features your mother once resented, especially as your hips filled out and became too obvious at such a young age—but then Pearl sent a kind, tentative smile your way one day, seeing you in a new dress, and proclaimed that you were beautiful, even while you were still growing into the newness in your body—and you will always love her for that.

**07: Despair**

The worst you ever thought you’d feel was when you saw your father packing up the car and leaving your family for a long time—but then the giant woman with mad eyes and a gem sharp nose took Steven and the Crystal Gems away, leaving you alone, weak, and so incredibly _useless_.

**08: Doors**

Amethyst is the hardest to get closer to as you age—often, she’s fun to be around and as amazing as the other Gems—but then there are the times when she shuts you and everyone out, closing all the doors you long to pry open.

**09: Drink**

You swipe at your clammy brow and look down at the _thing_ that is slowly becoming the drill that will save the world, only to have a chilled bottle of water shoved into your free hand—when you look, Peridot is stomping away with flushed cheeks and you grin, “Thanks, Peri!”

**10: Duty**

Perhaps it was always meant to be your decision, even before Jasper came—maybe even the moment you met Rose, or when you found out she was pregnant with your beloved cousin—regardless, the more you saw Steven grow in the incident’s aftermath, the more inspired you were to do your part in keeping your planet and loved ones safe.

**11: Earth**

“You are so lucky, Lisa,” Rose once said to you, as she held you in her lap and looked up at the stars with you, “To have been born the way you are, to live as you are, as you will, on this very planet.”

**12: End**

Seeing Garnet poof into two gems—one red, the other blue—stopped your heart, the scream in your throat; you were certain your world just ended.

**13: Fall**

But then the ship fell from the sky, and Steven and the Gems came out in one piece—though with a new, larger enemy—and your shattered heart happily pieced back together as you ran back to meet them.

**14: Fire**

_Fuck fuck fuck_ , is the desperate mantra that runs through your brain as you proceed to dodge all the fireballs Garnet throws at you; training with the Gems is going to be harder than you thought.

**15: Flexible**

You will never get over how Amethyst shifts her form so easily, even going so far as to stretch her neck and playfully wrap herself around you like a present.

**16: Flying**

“You sure you’re okay with this?” You ask Lapis, who already has her water wings out, and she smiles, though it seems hesitant to reach her eyes—“Just take my hand, nerd,” she says.

**17: Food**

You moan around the first good meal you’ve had since getting out of work, and you grin over at the flushed chef, “You’re getting real good, Amethyst! You’ll have to teach me some stuff.”

**18: Foot**

“—and what have I said about watching out for glass?” Before he can protest, you look up from wrapping the gauze around his foot and frown, “Steven, I don’t care that you’re half-alien or whatever, you need to be as careful as anyone else walking along a beach.”

**19: Grave**

The worst thing about learning about Titi Rose’s death was learning that there’d been no body to bury, that there will be no grave to visit—only a baby cousin that you weren’t sure you’d wanted anymore.

**20: Green**

You take one look at Steven, then at Peridot—the one who made you hate green for a good while—and you scowl, “Kid, you better know what you’re doing.”

**21: Head**

Lately, you’ve been noticing how distant Steven sometimes gets, how his eyes glaze over, how his mouth forms into a worried frown—what worries dare to infest his head?

**22: Hollow**

You try to cheer Pearl up after the “Sardonyx Incident”, but her voice—even while sounding cheerful—can’t hide how hollow she’s feeling.

**23: Honor**

“Honor? In fighting this...this abomination? For all of these abominations?!” Jasper laughs in your face, and pulls you close, her hand clasping your throat and temporarily ignoring Steven and the Gems, “You are too _funny_ , human.”

**24: Hope**

“I know you feel terrible. Hell, I feel terrible, and I didn’t even get to meet her—I won’t even say that this was the right or wrong decision, because I don’t think that’s a call we can make so easily. But maybe one day, we can pop that bubble and figure out something better for her, for everyone,” you told Steven, who tearfully looked up at a bubbled rainbow, spiraled square.

**25: Light**

Bismuth didn’t think she’d be un-bubbled so soon—despite what she feels about Steven and everyone, she’s certain no one could forgive her for what happened or that she can forgive him (and Rose) for what happened—but then she’s able to form again, and the first person she sees as the light clears is you; unfamiliar, furious, beautiful _you_.

**26: Lost**

It had been a hard battle, with similar results—Jasper taking your family on a ship ( _Where did she even find one? Bitch._ )—but this time you had Peridot, Lapis, and Connie in the fallout, and one crazy, desperate idea.

**27: Metal**

According to Earth records, Bismuth has long been regarded as an unstable element, an unpredictable metal, but as you watch her fix the ship that you will use to save everyone, you can’t say you regret releasing her.

**28: New**

_We’ve got humans helping us fight this war now?_ Bismuth frowns as she watches you and Connie train—both of you with swords and other weapons—and it’s almost too much to believe ( _Bad enough we’ve got Homeworld Gems on our side..._ ), in so little time.

**29: Old**

Bismuth feels her throat tighten as Steven shields her and him from Jasper’s hit, seeing the familiar pink rose blooming bravely in the center—some things never change.

**30: Peace**

For the longest time, war was all Bismuth knew and breathed; but for Steven, her friends (new and old), and maybe even Rose ( _Maybe_ ), she could try to live this new life on Earth.

**31: Poison**

“Well, based on the evidence presented before me,” Pearl starts, an air of theatrics and smug as she smirks at the rest of her opponents (i.e. Steven, Garnet, and you), “I conclude that it was Ms. Scarlet, in the kitchen, with a vial of poison!”

**32: Pretty**

You know what pretty is: You see it in how your dresses flare about your hips and accentuate your ample bust; you see it in your short, curled hair and how it frames your small, young face; you see it in the Gems you’ve admired your whole life, and the new ones who have joined—Bismuth is not pretty, not in the traditional means, but she makes your heart jump all the same, even with just a smile.

**33: Rain**

The first time you spar with Bismuth is when the skies have opened up into a summer storm, and you have to switch out—decide to partner with Garnet instead—because you can’t afford the distraction of water dripping down huge, incredible shoulders, or those crafty hands touching you.

**34: Regret**

Bismuth still believes that she was right in her fight against Rose, even now; but there are moments where she can’t help but wonder: _Could we have handled it differently?_

**35: Roses**

Pearl used to get so despondent whenever she saw or held a rose; ever since her talk with Greg and her own internal confrontations, she has started to love the sight of roses again.

**36: Secret**

The Crystal Gems all have their share of secrets, and Bismuth remains no different in this regard—one new secret of hers is the rush of desire and joy she feels whenever you look her way with that gorgeous smile.

 **37:** **Snakes**

“Get that little shit away from me!” You scream as Garnet grins, a small green garden snake curled along her arm and teases, “What’s wrong, Lisa? I thought you were all hardcore now.”

**38: Snow**

“I missed this,” Steven whispers as he lies back and allows himself to revel in the simple joy of a snowflake landing on his cheek, if only for a little while.

**39: Solid**

“Wow, y-you’re really strong,” you gush as Bismuth lifts you up, huge hands around your waist, allowing you to touch her arms and feel just how solid she is—then you see her smirk and raise an eyebrow, and your cheeks flame bright red as you look away, “I-I mean, of course you are! You were made for strength and all that good Gem stuff—it’s part of who you are. And I like that. Well, I-I-I mean, I appreciate that, as well as I appreciate the other Gems, and um. Oh, _poder_ —”

**40: Spring**

“I love this season,” she said, laying down on the grass; Ruby looked over at her, a tentative, worried question in her gaze, and Sapphire smiled, “It’s so warm, and beautiful. Just like you.”

**41: Stable**

“—there are a lot of adults in this country who grew up in nonliteracy, whether by their own choice or others. They come to the center at the library, where I work, believing that reading and writing will give their lives stability, some closure,” you explain to Bismuth when she decides to ask what you do when you’re not fighting, “I’m one of the few who try to give them that stability.”

**42: Strange**

“Them ladies you hang with are mighty queer,” one of your students said to you one day, after a lesson—he is an elderly black man who grew up on a farm in Arizona and never got an education because he had to work for most of his life, even for people who basically stepped on him—and you couldn’t help the snort-giggle mix that bubbled out of you, “Ray, you have no idea...”

**43: Summer**

With all the Gem drama you’ve experienced this past year and a half, you almost forgot that summers could be as simple as going to a party, tanning at the beach, or having a fling with that boy/girl next door who’s been eyeing you as much as you’ve eyed them.

**44: Taboo**

The first time you admitted you liked girls as much as boys—your voice trembling with the confused realization of a still growing, still trying to figure-herself-out teenager—your mother pointed to the door and told you to never come home again.

**45: Ugly**

You’ll always know ugly when you see it—whether it’s in the snarl Jasper directs at Steven, who she continues to see as Rose, despite the contrary, or in the looks your students get by those privileged by literacy, those who don’t care that your students are trying to better themselves, those who still consider them a burden.

**46: War**

Bismuth sometimes goes on tangents in your conversations, tangents that inevitably lead to talk about the Gem War—you immediately lean forward, keep your gaze towards hers, and let her talk, knowing that this is what she needs.

**47: Water**

“You know what really makes me sick, Lisa?” Lapis says when you visit the barn with Steven and observe her looking at her and Peridot’s makeshift aquarium, hugging herself tight and shuddering, “I still miss _her_ , despite everything.”

**48: Welcome**

“Well, since things ended...not so great the last time,” Steven says with a sad apology in his smile at Bismuth—who is still staring warily ( _And yes, okay, hopeful too_ ) at the Gems, you, and the giant chocolate cake that says “Welcome back” in bright blue frosting—“I figured we could do this properly, and start over.”

**49: Winter**

With how scorching and horrible the summer has been—not just with the weather—you were certain the refreshing chill of winter would never come. 

**50: Wood**

“Still not sure how to feel about this all being made of wood,” Bismuth comments as you roll your eyes and set up her bed in the second bedroom of your basement of apartment—you couldn’t have asked for a more annoying (and... _frustrating_ ) roommate. **  
**

 

 


	2. Peace and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst, love, character studies, fluff and some sin >:3
> 
> Also, bonus: slightly spoiler character at the end :D

* * *

**#01 – Comfort**

After being kicked out, the first person was the man who left your family so long ago—someone you only got to see every other weekend, until your mother decided that he wasn’t allowed to see you anymore—and even when he knew why, your father pulled you into a warm embrace and let you finally sob into his shirt.

**  
#02 – Kiss**

“I-I want to try something,” you will say to Bismuth one day, fighting off the blush on your cheeks and biting your bottom lip as you look up at her, nearly hurting your neck, “a-and I’ll explain what it is and all that, but just let me get a chair first...”

**  
#03 – Soft**

“And this is why you should think twice before punching a Gem like they’re made of glass,” Bismuth says as she wraps your sprained hand in gauze, trying not to dwell on the softness of your skin.

**  
#04 – Pain**

Sometimes, while you are vacuuming your living room, or cooking in the kitchen, you catch Bismuth staring out a window—or just ahead at nothing—with glazed, longing eyes, and your heart lurches.

**  
#05 – Potatoes**

“Potatoes and molasses,” Steven sings as he mixes the two foodstuffs in question; when he takes a bite, he cringes and continues with a groan, “really shouldn’t go together!”

**  
#06 – Rain**

You’re in the middle of dancing in the rain with Connie and Steven, when you catch Bismuth standing on the porch, watching you as if she can look through you—and you become hyperaware of just how soaked you are.

**  
#07 – Chocolate**

After Bismuth took the slice of chocolate cake to celebrate her “return” or whatever from you, she choked as you wrapped your tiny arms around her neck and whispered, “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

**  
#08 – Happiness**

For the first time in so long, longer than she’d known, Bismuth finally looked around at what was left of the Crystal Gems and allowed the lightness to overwhelm her heart.

**  
#09 – Telephone**

“Yes, dad, I’m still working at the library—uh, trouble? In Beach City?! No, no,” you lie with a nervous laugh over the phone, “Whoever told you that?”

**  
#10 – Ears**

“Grr, I’ve got you now,” you snarled as little Steven squirmed in your arms, squealing with laughter and protests as you nommed his little ear.

**#11 – Name**

It takes at least two months of nicknames—“Brainiac”, “Short Stop”, and “Sugar Queen”, to name a few—before Bismuth finally calls you “Lisa.”

**  
#12 – Sensual**

It’s all a mish mosh of sensations and fragmented images—searing kisses on your throat, huge hands roving your more smaller body, furious touches to the apex of your thighs until you _shatter_ , the smell of fire blown from a candle—before you wake up alone in your room, her name on your tongue.

**  
#13 – Death**

“Not gonna lie, Steven,” you said to him once, “I cried like a baby when I found out your mother died—but I’m so glad to have met you.”

**  
#14 – Sex**

“W-well, we don’t just do it for procreation, we do it for fun too,” you explain to Bismuth, your cheeks burning under her questioning stare, “But primarily, we do it for the intimacy we get with another person, especially someone we care about—in a way, it’s how humans fuse.”

**  
#15 – Touch**

The first time Bismuth’s huge hand lingered on your lower back, you didn’t think much of it—but when her hands start lingering on all other parts of your body, you allowed yourself to hope.

**  
#16 – Weakness**

Even as she is wrapping her arms around you and  lifting you from the chair you’d been standing on—the soft joining of lips quickly turning into something carnal, almost violent—Bismuth can feel herself crumble.

**  
#17 – Tears**

“Hey, hey, look at me. Yes, this certainly did turn into a mess,” you said to Steven, gently wiping away his tears and rubbing the back of his head, “but that doesn’t make you anything less than who you are.”

**  
#18 – Speed**

“What the—Sapphire!” You yell at the blue blur chasing red, “Stop running around and teasing Ruby, it’s too early for this!”

**  
#19 – Wind**

Bismuth is in the middle of reminiscing with Garnet when she notices how the wind lifts up the skirt of your sundress just enough to reveal your long legs and a hint of panties before you push it back down with a laugh and flush—and she has to clench her entire being before she runs over to you and does something stupid.

**  
#20 – Freedom**

Pearl first tasted freedom on the lips of Pink Diamond’s most rebellious Quartz soldier, who would quickly become so much more.

**  
#21 – Life**

_This is the life_ , Peridot smiles a little as she leans into Lapis’s arm, and watches Percy make the big mistake of getting with Paulette _again_.

**  
#22 – Jealousy**

Bismuth and Pearl went through a lot during the Gem War, and that probably helped to build the bond between them now—but that still doesn’t stop the bitterness that coils in your stomach whenever they laugh and hold each other.

**  
#23 – Hands**

Once, when you caught Pearl projecting a memory of Rose and sobbing in the aftermath, you walked over, crouched down, and gently squeezed your hand atop her own.

**  
#24 – Taste**

Bismuth broke the kiss to allow you to breathe; she watched you try to compose yourself—your lips red, cheeks flushed, and your eyes dark with hunger—and she licked her lips before diving back again.

**  
#25 – Devotion**

When you turned twenty, your father decided to go back to school and finish his Associates Degree; as you helped him and saw him struggle through his learning, you felt a fire light inside you, a path build in front of you—one that felt more right than anything else at the time.

**  
#26 – Forever**

You aren’t going to live forever, so you will enjoy the time you have left with the ones that truly matter.

**  
#27 – Blood**

Taking a breath and letting the oxygen power your muscles, you slowly stood up, spat out your blood into the sand, and then raised your fists up to Garnet, a crooked grin on your lips.

**  
#28 – Sickness**

You looked up at the bubble that had Jasper’s Gem in it; while you didn’t like her and felt she was a bit of a creep, you couldn’t help but hope that she—and every other Gem—could come out of this one piece, one day.

**  
#29 – Melody**

One of the best lullabies you listened to as a child was the sound of Tio Greg’s guitar and Titi Rose’s soft, lilting voice.

**  
#30 – Star**

One look at Steven’s starry eyes, and you know everything is going to be okay.

**  
#31 – Home**

_How did this happen_ , you sometimes wonder, looking around at the Crystal Gems—both new and old—Tio Greg, and Steven, even when you already know the answer, _When did this place become home?_

**  
#32 – Confusion**

“So...what you’re saying is,” you said to Garnet, with a hint of doubt, for probably the hundredth time, “it _is_ Gem sex...but not?”

**  
#33 – Fear**

When you first saw Bismuth out of that bubble,  you made sure to look brave and cocksure on the outside, even while you were really falling apart: _Oh my god, oh my god, what the fuck was I thinking, Lapis was right, she’s HUGE, she is sooo gon kill me, dead ass—_

**  
#34 - Lightning/Thunder**

“Lisa, can I sleep with you?” Steven asked with a slight five year old lisp, and wide, teary eyes; you immediately shut your book and scooted down to make room.

**  
#35 – Bonds**

“—Okay, just remember to do the thumb swear, Lisa,” Steven said after you made a promise, his little face serious and pouting ( _So cute, oh my god_ ), “You can’t break that, no matter what.”

**  
#36 – Market**

As you’re walking down the baking aisle, you stop in front of the flower and yeast and immediately stock up; it’s almost apple pie season, after all.

**  
#37 – Technology**

At the conference about writing and computers, you make an argument on the literacy implications of text based and visual gaming, remembering how you taught Steven to read using Earthbound.

**  
#38 – Gift**

Ruby just about exploded when she once found Sapphire on their bed, wrapped all up in ribbon and smirking, “Merry Christmas~”

**  
#39 – Smile**

Pearl has been smiling a lot more now, Amethyst can’t help but notice; she’s never sure what to do whenever that brilliant smile faces her direction.

**  
#40 – Innocence**

“Lisa, Bismuth,” Steven asks as you two attempt to sneak back into the apartment in the house’s basement, “where are you two going, the party’s not over yet!”

**  
#41 – Completion**

You throw your head back against the wall behind you, gasping and whimpering as Bismuth pounds into you—with...her cock? Phallus? Whatever, you don’t know, but it feels _so good_ —even as an orgasm shatters through you.

  **  
#42 – Clouds**

Steven is in the middle of describing a cloud formation to Connie when he realizes that she’s fallen asleep on the grass, the stressed crease on her forehead now smooth, and her mouth formed into a relaxed smile that just about ruins him.

**  
#43 – Sky**

“This is amazing!” You scream to Lapis as she soars, her hands tightly grasping yours.

**  
#44 – Heaven**

Gems have no concept of God, Heaven, or even Hell—but even so, Greg hopes to one day see Rose in such a safe, warm place.

**  
#45 – Hell**

“Go to hell,” You hiss at Jasper as she steps into the Temple, demanding to know where the other Gems are.

**  
#46 – Sun**

One of Rose’s favorite things to do was to watch the sun rise and light up Greg’s sleeping face every morning.

**  
#47 – Moon**

The first time they go to the moon base, Pearl nearly chokes on the memories running through her—memories of her Diamond, humiliation, and the desire for _more_ than what was decided for her.

**  
#48 – Waves**

“I regret nothing,” Amethyst cries as she rides the huge swell that’s gracing Beach City.

**  
#49 – Hair**

Lisa walks in with a new haircut one day, after work—short, wavy, and framing her petite face so perfectly—and Bismuth immediately reaches out to touch it, reveling in the softness curling around her fingers.

**  
#50 – Supernova**

Amethyst doesn’t think much when she draws Steven in—nothing really beyond _Thank you_ and the mix of love and pride—but as she does, a light bursts out from their embrace, quickly turning them into something new.


	3. Never Make Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More 50 sentence drabbles. Eventually, these will become something cohesive and carry out a real story. :P
> 
> Notes:  
>  _putas_ = Spanish word for bitch or whore; plural form
> 
>  _Me cago en Dios_ = Spanish curse/phrase; translates to "Shit on God," or "I shit on God."

* * *

**Blame**

“Listen kid, I think it’s time you and I had a talk,” Bismuth said to Steven not too long after she was un-bubbled, inwardly cringing at the way his eyes gleamed with fear and— _I’m so sorry, so sorry, I wish I could fix what I did, what_ she _did_ —and resisting the urge to tell him that the fight was her fault, not his, because shifting blame from each other wasn’t going to give them the closure they needed.

**Proof**

“—Okay, but what if it’s not just a crack, like Garnet said—not an external one at least, something that destroyed them from the inside,” you say, walking around the Bubble Room with determination, “and if it was sound that did the damage...what if sound could be what fixes them too?”

**Assistance**

While in the grocery store, you notice an old woman struggle to read a label on an aisle, her brow creased with confusion and embarrassment—without thinking twice, you approach her with a smile and a helping hand.

**Going**

“Lisa, will you be okay?” Steven asks as the train to Empire City rolls in, and you give him a smile—you’re not okay, you’re confused, why is your mother contacting you _now_ , after all this time—but you will be as long as they’re waiting for you to come back.

**Birthday**

You smile at the twenty four candles that line the cake Steven and Amethyst baked you, then look around—from a grinning Tio Greg, some of your students from the center, a winking Bismuth, and to a blithe Garnet—and even though you know you have everything you could possibly want, you blow out the candles.

**Scientist**

“And now, we gently add a drop of—no, no, Lisa, sweetie that’s too much,” Pearl shouted to you before the Temple’s makeshift lab exploded, ultimately ruining your sophomore year science project.

**Silent**

By the time you realized just how silent your surroundings were—no birds singing, no animals crying out, _nothing_ —it was too late to notice the Homeworld ship that was landing a few clicks behind you.

**Behalf**

Pearl stood up straight, her nose high and her tone regal, “On behalf of the Candy Kingdom, I dub thee Sir Steven”—she pauses to tap the cardboard sword on his shoulders—“Knight and Protector of these great lands!”

**Rumor(ed)**

“So, I heard from the grape vine,” Alyssa, one of your oldest friends from high school, leaned forward with a playful grin, her hands folded under her chin, “that you found yourself a buff waifu.”

**Tip**

As Sadie passes you the latte that will help you survive the day, her expression despondent—probably from having another fight with Lars, the emotionally constipated idiot—you make sure to drop an extra two dollars in the tip jar.

**Idle**

The best part of your day is coming home, curling on your couch with a book, and Bismuth letting you lazily tangle your hand in her rainbow locks.

**Brother**

Because of your parents’ messy divorce, you never got the chance to have the little brother you wanted—but after seeing how much of a monster your mother is, you’re happy no other child had to live through what you did.

**Beneath**

Even though it took you a while to really trust her, you quickly learned that under that militarism and roughness, Bismuth could be really sweet.

**Redecorate**

When you first moved into the basement apartment beneath the Temple, Pearl was the first Gem you asked to help you redecorate.

**Gravitation**

The confusion really started when you found yourself gravitating to cool as a cucumber, curves like _whoa_ , incredibly amazing Garnet more than any teenager you ever knew.

**Kilt**

“This is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn,” Steven shouted as he touched the plaid kilt and lifted it around his hips, his eyes gleaming with stars.

**Afterthought**

_Maybe there is more to them than meets the eye_ , Bismuth appraised with a quirked eyebrow as Stevonnie delivered a brutal side kick to a Homeworld Gem.

**Unearth**

Now that it’s ten years letter, you take the time to dig up that patch of dirt where you hid a metal box containing letters of a fourteen year old you—a you who was scared, confused, and feeling a tentative hope for the future—after you read each, you smile and write down your replies.

**Shield**

As the light fades to reveal Listeven—who has Steven’s iron strength, and your proficiency for hand-to-hand combat—they crick their neck and take a determined step in front of Pearl, protecting her from the Homeworld Gem that was about to attack her.

**Blacklist**

Yellow Diamond growled at the images that showed up on her screen, images of Gems both familiar and new, and she punched the computer into pieces— _How the hell did any of them survive?_

**Misquoted**

“No, Steven, Marie Antoinette did not say ‘Let them eat cake’,” you told him patiently, “the girl was ignorant of poor people struggles, but she wasn’t that stupid.”

**Copying**

When your father laughed, you turned to him to ask him what was up, only to see baby Steven hobbling behind you, trying to imitate your prepubescent struts with a toothless grin.

**Arguing**

“So, how long do you think it’ll be before they start making out again?” You deadpan to an irate Steven as Ruby and Sapphire continue their argument—Ruby, of course, yelling and setting fire to everything, while Sapphire retorts with a tone that ices the entire room.

**Lens**

For years, you and Steven saw Rose from a vacuum—you took her for the image that was presented about her—but the older you two got, the more you learned, the bigger that perspective grew.

**Bell**

You alarm blared in the early hours of the morning, sounding much like warning bells, and you could only groan and burrow further into your pillow.

**Arrest(ed)**

“—you think you can just throw me in your cell and treat me like crap ‘cause I’m ‘organic’, you little _putas_ ,” you growl from your cell, glaring at any Quartz soldier that passes by, despite your wrists being chained to the wall behind you, “Just wait until my friends find out where I am, _especially_ my girlfriend—you will be sorry!”

**Havoc**

“ _Me cago en Dios_ ,” you cursed in horror as you saw not only the soldiers, but the artillery packed in the Homeworld ship, enough for a second invasion—enough for another War.

**Tool**

Your last birthday present was from Bismuth: a hilt that extended light that can cut and block and stab, something that wasn’t just a sword but a... _oh Jesus,_ it was a—

“...Something you can use to fight, in case your hands don’t cut it,” Bismuth said, scratching the back of her neck with a light flush, “Plus, Steven said that it was something you wanted as a kid, after watching some nerdy movie, a-and...and _stars_ , woman, say something, don’t just stare at me—”

—you immediately pulled her to your mouth, your free hand cupping the back of her neck.

**Blanket**

The warm blanket Pearl wraps around you is heavy on your shoulders, but it’s enough to ground you, to keep you from thinking about how that weapon felt in your arms, how it easily it shattered the Homeworld Gem that almost killed Bismuth.

**Fancy**

“Our dances weren’t so different from yours,” Bismuth said as she led you around the room, then twirled you around, only to pull you back to her and stare down at you, eyes hooded and dark— _Seriously, with how huge she is, she is sooo not allowed to be all graceful and smooth, but she_ is _what the flipping hell_ —“Though the upper crusts would have never dared get this close to the likes of me.”

**Dash**

Seeing Steven the day after the Gems rescue you from the Homeworld ship and knowing what you did—knowing that he _saw_ what you did, Jesus, _you terrible person_ —makes you jump from your seat and run out the door.

**Away**

“Let me go, Bismuth,” you scream before she pulls you back and pins you to the nearest wall, caging you with her arms on either side; “You are _not_ going to run away, Lisa, not from this—no matter what, you _can’t_ ,” Bismuth lowers her voice and her gaze softens, “So please, let’s just talk about it?”

**Vindication**

“Ever since I was a kid, I always admired Rose—she was the mother I wish I’d had, the only person who could probably fit the role—and yet, when the moment came, I did the one thing she was against, the one thing that would make her ashamed of me: I killed someone, a Gem,” you say, picking your head up to lock your teary gaze with Bismuth, who kept her expression open and understanding, “And I didn’t care...because all I wanted to do was to save you.”

**Champagne**

Last New Year’s Eve, you drank a glass of champagne far away from your mother and her side of the family, wishing and hoping by the next, you’d be anywhere but there.

**Note**

Fourteen was a confusing time, a time where you passed notes to friends and felt a tingle every time one of the really cute ones brushed their fingers with yours.

**Physical**

“I don’t know what you’re doing to get in shape,” your doctor said to you when you visited her for your checkup, her mouth spread into a beam, “but it’s working!”

**Mistakes**

“It would be amazing, wouldn’t it, if we never made mistakes, and always did the right thing, kept our consciences clear and all that—but let me tell you something Rose also taught me,” Bismuth says as she wipes your tears and brushes your hair from your face, “One mistake, whether big or small, does not make you less of who you are—if anything, that mistake and what you learn from it helps to affirm who you are and what you believe is right.”

**Frozen**

You can’t say anything when you went back to the temple and see Steven on the couch, reading the latest book in that new series he and Connie got into—when he jumps from the couch, you panic, but still watch as he runs to the fridge to get out two Cookie Cats, then back to you—smiling kindly as he offers one to you.

**Stumble(d)**

Despite your initial rejection of Rose’s baby when he and Tio Greg decided to visit, you were the first to catch him when he stumbled on his first steps towards your father’s coffee table.

**Hunt**

Amethyst watches you from behind a rock, leaning forward on her haunches, and allows herself a sneaky cackle before pouncing.

**Gibberish**

Even though most of what baby Steven said now was barely even English, you still found yourself nodding and carrying on the conversation.

**Camp**

“...Technically, this isn’t camping,” you reminded Steven and Connie, noticing how they crouched together under the makeshift tent (made entirely of blankets and pillows) as they watched a scary movie, but Steven just shushed you and waved you away, his gaze shifting pointedly to an immersed Connie.

**Weak(ness)**

“I know what will make you do it,” Bismuth claims with a smirk, and you open your mouth to retort— _Honestly, what kind of human does she think I am?_ —but then the smell of freshly baked brownies, which happen to be in her hands, hits you and practically makes your knees buckle.

**Bargain**

“Listen, you just need to give me an hour of your time—an hour where we go over reading and writing—and then we can do whatever you want,” you bribed Steven with a smile, even as he pouted about staying inside and “going to school.”

**Alcohol**

“I-I-I’m a simple girl, with simple needs, so it really isn’t fair that Adrien and Marinette are both too stupid to realize they basically love each other—both behind and outside the mask—you know what I mean, baby,” you continue rambling with cheeks flushed and brown eyes glazed, and Bismuth has to bite back her laughter as she hides the half-empty bottle of Fireball Whiskey and nods in agreement.

**Wind**

“Okay, the wind is just about right,” Connie said before turning to Steven, and the kite he’s holding, “Let her go!”

**Temptation**

Before you two managed to become _something_ in your fumbling, Bismuth would often glance at you, especially when you were roughed up from  a sparring session, and clench her fists to her side, certain that what she wanted from you was something she didn’t deserve after the mess she and Steven (and Rose) made.

**Eighteen**

You were eighteen when you lost your virginity—it was a night of fumbling, nervous giggles, and your first boyfriend being a little too zealous (though thankfully it didn’t hurt)—and while you’re a bit more experienced now, you sometimes look back on that night with fondness.

**Bottle**

After seeing what it did to your mother, you are careful not to clench any bottle in your hand too tight, as if you need it.

**Rhythm**

Greg watches as Steven sings his and Rose’s song—Garnet playing the bass, Amethyst on the drums, and even Pearl with a tambourine—and he has to lift a trembling hand to his mouth, has to struggle in holding back a sob.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a thing. That I'm writing. That I'm almost done writing, anyway.
> 
> In regards to future installments, I personally blame Bismuth and her episode. Because. God damn. Gurl, god _damn_. I need to get the frustration I feel about her out somehow. Because I can't. I just can't.
> 
> She better get a redemption arc, that's all I'm going to say for now.
> 
> Edit: Finished all 50 sentences this morning, so I decided to just pack them all in one chapter, and I'll write another fifty for the next chapter. Yay!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Combing Through Life: 50 Sentences](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994943) by [JSheets716](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JSheets716/pseuds/JSheets716)




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